Liber Ignium
The Liber Ignium ad Comburendos Hostes (English: On the Use of Fire to Conflagrate the Enemy, commonly known as the Book of Fires) is a collection of recipes for incendiary weapons, including Greek fire, rockets, and gunpowder[1], which was allegedly written by an 8th century Greek man named Marcus Graecus ('Mark the Greek"). It is notable for having been read by Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus, who cited it in his works[2][3].
Origins
The Greek origin of the text remains controversial[4] Albert Henry Hime believed that it was a 13th century hoax[5] because rockets and gunpowder were not known in Europe before then[3]. Study of the text has suggested that it was originally translated from Arabic, possibly by a person from Moorish Spain.[6][3][7]
References
- ^ Partington, James Riddick. A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, p.59
- ^ Partington, James Riddick. A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, p.58
- ^ a b c Pan, Jixing. On the Origin of Rockets, T'oung Pao, Vol.73, pg.5-6
- ^ Partington, James Riddick. A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, p.43
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh (ed.) Gunpowder, Encyclopedia Britanica, 1910, p.724
- ^ Partington, James Riddick. A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, p.42
- ^ Dana, Charles E., Notes on Cannon-Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol.50, pg.149